Two and a half years after the release of their Blue Rose debut Burn.Flicker.DieAmerican Aquarium from North Carolina are back with their masterpiece Wolves. This is not a long interim for a combo known for playing 250 to 300 shows a year. But a lot has happened since the last album which would almost never have seen the light of day. After six album releases and long years of receiving little recognition despite their hard work and good reviews, American Aquarium were disillusioned and physically exhausted. In 2012, the band discussed their options, considered packing it in but decided to give it one last effort. Ironically, it was Burn.Flicker.Die which dealt with a band’s fruitless striving for success and their frustration that led to their breakthrough. Wolves represents the band’s continuation with a new optimism, team spirit and maturity.

If you’re from Raleigh, NC and play authentic music based on musical chops and songs with a Southern/ alt.country/Americana flair you’re bound to be compared to bands like Whiskeytown or the Backsliders. On the band’s first albums these influences on BJ (Bradley Justin) Barham are clearly audible, particularly Ryan Adams’. The band leader/songwriter/lead singer/guitarist doesn’t deny it, either, citing Adams, Bruce Springsteen and Jeff Tweedy as the guiding lights of his musical development. Barham founded an early incarnation of American Aquarium in 2005 in Raleigh; the band’s core lineup of Ryan Johnson (lead guitar), Whit Wright (pedal steel), Bill Corbin (bass) and Kevin McClain (drums) stabilized in 2009 with their first noteworthy album Dances For The Lonely. It was followed by 2010’s Small Town Hymns and the Jason Isbell-produced Burn.Flicker.Die in 2012.

Now American Aquarium are ready to take another step forward. In April 2014 a first-class guitarist joined the band in Colin DiMeo, then in the summer – financed by fund-raising – they booked 20 days at the renowned Echo Mountain Studio in Asheville, NC. Inspired by innovative producers Brad Cook (Megafaun, Hiss Golden Messenger, Amy Ray) & Jon Ashley (Avett Brothers, Truth & Salvage Co., Dawes) the sextet created a kind of "Thinking Man's Southern Americana Rock" with sophisticated, exciting arrangements. Rock songs and emphatic ballads are evenly represented. Between Barham’s acoustic guitar and the flexible, powerful rhythm section, a glistening pedal steel and two electric guitars coalesce into a very special cinemascope soundscape. Brad Cook’s brother Phil on keyboards (both play in indie-pop band Megafaun) and pedal & lap steeler Whit Wright round out the band’s sound with beautiful textures. Andy Henrod of Comas sings background vocals, saxophonist Matt Douglas (Chris Stamey, Kenny Roby, Josh Ritter) provides a horn section. These are marginal but purposeful details – the main element of American Aquarium’s sound, however, remains BJ Barham’s sandstone voice.

Barham’s lyrics have clearly matured. The songs on Wolves deal – almost like a concept album – with the pros and cons of life on the road: loneliness, difficult relationships, feeling homesick, longing for love, but also freedom, independence, the chance to change things and confidence in oneself. In the epic opening ballad “Family Problems” Barham sings of someone who has “inherited” an addiction problem but is not too far gone to be saved – with a Southern-flavored sound, accentuated guitar solos and powerful horn parts. “Southern Sadness” provides a longing, raw and rootsy sound with two electric guitars in perfect balance. The first centerpiece and highlight is the slow, pedal steel-colored ‚Man I’m Supposed To Be’, Barham’s declaration of love to his wife, an enchanting ballad between Springsteen (‘Streets Of Philadelphia’) and Richmond Fontaine (‘Post To Wire’). It is followed by ‘Wichita Falls’, Southern country rock with an Uncle Tupelo/Drive-By Truckers flavor. ‘Old North State’, a tribute to his home state of North Carolina, is another rumbling alt.country number with pedal steel and crunchy, rocking guitars. ‘Ramblin’ Ways’ is an edgy Southern boogie/funk while the semi-autobiographic ‘Losing Side Of Twenty-Five’ sports a banjo-y backporch flair. A musician following his path despite the odds and obstacles finds his luck here, at least artistically. ‘End Over End’ starts out driven by acoustic guitar and steel before electric guitar, bass & drums provide some midtempo tension that fits the somber lyrics well. Despite its brevity of 3.05 minutes, ‘Wolves’ is not only the album’s title track but a veritable killer of a song. With that story song based on a quote by local basketball hero Julius Hodge (“when we hungry, we eat”) Barham becomes the leader of a pack of musical wolves not unlike Robbie Robertson and The Band. ‘Who Needs A Song’ is a fitting closer to this album, both musically and lyrically. This is stirring alt.country rock with great guitars and the insight that success often comes at too high a cost.

We can only hope that American Aquarium will continue to find the right balance and deliver more wonderful albums like Wolves - a great Americana rock record for 2015!

4 Responses to “Artists”

Yo, Edgar, what’s going on with „Live And Never Learn?“ Why aren’t you returning our emails? Are you manufacturing? Should we re-press our own CD? We’re planning on getting CDs from you, but if that’s not happening give us some notice so we don’t show up in UK with no CDs.